Currant Wine

Ingredients

• currants
• 1 quart water
• 1 pound powdered loaf sugar
• 1 lump sugar

Instructions

1. Gather full ripe currants on a dry day and pick them from the stalks. Weigh the currants and crush them thoroughly by hand, leaving none whole. For every two pounds of currants, add one quart of water. Stir all well together and let it stand for three hours.
2. Strain the liquor through a sieve. For every three pounds of currants, add one pound of powdered loaf sugar to the strained liquid. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Bring to a boil and keep skimming as long as any scum rises to the surface.
3. Let the mixture stand for sixteen hours to cool completely before transferring it to a cask and stopping it very close. If the quantity is twenty gallons, let it stand for three weeks before bottling; if thirty gallons, it must remain for one month. The wine should be perfectly clear when drawn off.
4. When bottling, put a lump of sugar in each bottle, cork it well, and keep it in a cool place to prevent it from turning sour. If properly made, it will keep good for many years. This wine makes an agreeable beverage for the sick when mixed with water.